Students can choose from electives including French, Communications Technology, and Visual Arts. Thats great, except most of these courses cant be first selected in Grade 11 or Grade 12 because a prerequi- site is needed. So how are we supposed to discover what we are interested in if we cant select courses later on? I wish someone had told me not to be afraid of joining groups, clubs, or activities, despite them being social sui- cide, as the movie Mean Girls would put it. If I had done this, perhaps I would have discovered new interests or gained more experience. I wish someone had told me to take more initiative and expand my knowledge in the things I like. I have always had an interest in math, but never thought of applying these skills by joining my schools business club, for fear of not being cool. I admire the people who take the opportuni- ty to overachieve and transcend boundaries. I didnt know that volunteer hours and extracurricular activities could help immensely towards university and scholarship applications. When looking up scholarships on the Internet, I came across many significant schol- arships that required applicants to have shown great initiative in community leadership, community involve- ment and extracurricular activi- ties. My suggestion is that high schools give better orientations to students in Grades 9 or 10 to let students know they need to start thinking about these things. The orientations I got throughout high school were about apprenticeships and skilled trades such as plumbing, cooking, and mechanics things I wasnt interested in. Co-ops were also mentioned, but nothing about teaching stu- dents to go out of their comfort zone, or helping them figure out what post-secondary programs they may want to apply for. Students need to know these things. They need to get ahead of themselves from the begin- ning of high school by joining groups, clubs, extracurricular activities and becoming more aware of community service opportunities. They need to expand their interests and conquer their fears. As competition for university spots and employment increases each year, these factors could be crucial to student success. I know that if Id known how important these things are, I would have spent my time in high school much differently. By Michelle-Andrea Girouard GRADE 12, HOLY TRINITY H.S. This is it. My final chance to make agood impression on the universitiesto which I am applying. Along with my homework overload, I must create superb and stellar applications that boast my few achievements. This includes academic marks, extracurric- ular activities, volunteer hours, and anything else that will look good on my application. For many other students in their final year of high school, this also rings true. Now if only wed known how crucial this is from the beginning of high school... I, for one, wish I had known. As Grade 12 students, we are practically hit in the face with the news that we have to apply in less than three months. We have to figure out what we want to do with our lives, yet most of us havent even dis- covered who we are as individuals. Its funny how the education system expects you to know what you want to do from the beginning of Grade 10. Discover your interests before choosing a career path AUTHENTIC THAI CUISINE www.sukothai.ca 3115 Winston Churchill Blvd., Mississauga (North of Dundas by Longos) 905.369.0486 360 Dundas St. E., Oakville (East of Trafalgar by Longos) 905.257.9290 EA T-I N TA KE - OU T DE LIV ER Y TAKE OUT ORDER with CASH PAYMENT OAKVILLE LOCATION ONLY GOLD AWARD WINNER BEST THAI RESTAURANT IN MISSISSAUGA10% OFF w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER Fr id ay , D ec em be r 1 0, 2 01 0 1 2